This expression of Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam, “is creating an atmosphere to pray, and it’s an offering. I think it’s just a physical way of expressing this love for the divine, and in the whirling it becomes a meditation,” says Manjula Kumar, a program manager at the Smithsonian Institution. More →

December 13, 2013

The best-selling poet “helped present an appealing mystical idea of the wisdom of the East. He was someone who helped humanize and popularize Eastern thought,” says literary critic Liesl Schillinger. More →

July 12, 2013

Light, says the reggae-loving rocker, “is really a central theme in my music in general, in the story of Hanukkah, and in the spiritual process in general.” More →

December 10, 2009

Read excerpts from THOMAS MERTON: A LIFE IN LETTERS: The Essential Collection edited by Willam H. Shannon and Christian M. Bochen (HarperOne, 2008): November 10, 1958 …It seems to me that, as a contemplative, I do not need to lock … More →

June 4, 2009

Howard Thurman had a profound spiritual impact on civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. Yet for much of the last half century, Thurman’s contributions have often been overlooked. Now, more than 20 years after his death in 1981, Howard Thurman is finding a new audience. More →

January 18, 2002